Something I’ve been pondering as I view and vote on images. Are we rating the outfit itself, or how it looks on the individual?

For example, I’ve come across instances where technically the pants or shirt someone is wearing are well designed and chic, but the fit is quite unflattering for their particular body type. Or the item was not created for that kind of figure so the lines are being distorted, or the person is overwhelmed by the shape.

Sometimes I can look at an image and see that all the elements add up to good style — and would look great on a different build (taller/shorter, thinner/fuller, straighter/curvier) — but the effect on that particular individual is that the poor fit is distracting and seems to take away from the whole.

How does one vote in this case? Chic? Good? Ok? Bad?
Does voting “chic” for the clothing itself give the misleading impression that the fit is good?
Does voting “ok” for poor fit give the misleading impression that the items themselves aren’t right?

Is part of being chic knowing how to dress for your build, and we should vote accordingly?
I’m curious to hear your thoughts on this.

Uhm…it could be simple, but i vote CHIC when something/someone impress me and i think it’s worthy to be part of the Style Gallery, so that everyone could see that!
So, sometimes it could be that i like one item (that maybe i’d love to have lol), it could be a total chic outfit with i could relate to (ie something i could wear too, kinda of my style, and it should be a male outfit lol) or an outfit that i think is amazing for different kind of reason: the person wear it so well, the style itself is wonderful… :)
I usually comment and then give my chic vote, so in the comment i usually say what i like most or if i like the whole outfit, or still if i’d wear it! :)

posted almost 6 years ago

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Thanks for sharing your thoughts. :) I think my voting system is a bit different than yours. I vote more liberally when it comes to other categories, but for People:
I vote “chic” if I feel an entire outfit is well done (not necessarily my style, but well done).
I vote “good” if I feel there’s one or two elements that are “off” and preventing the outfit from feeling fully together.
I rarely ever vote “ok” or less. If it’s not “chic” or “good” I usually don’t address it because it feels negative.

I was sparked to start this discussion after seeing an image on a street style blog.

The individual was wearing drop-crotch pants. Unfortunately they happened to have short legs and the style of pants made their legs look really really stumpy. Which was made worse by the long shirt that gave the illusion of a disproportionately long torso. Which was further worsened by the fact that the shirt was large and loose while the pants were very tight, making the legs look not only way too short but way too scrawny. Like underdeveloped.

The end result: I thought they looked like a trainwreck due to the fit and proportion problems. Yet on their own each element was interesting and combined they would have been stylish on someone else.

Occasionally I come across less extreme examples here and I’m always stumped as to how to vote in those situations. I don’t feel it’s appropriate to offer constructive criticism unless it’s asked for, and commenting on fit enters a dicey area of sensitive body image for many people, so I don’t feel comfortable sharing comments on that subject (unless specifically asked).